The sight of Mirene being lectured by Surnin was, naturally enough, drawing an audience.
But whether they thought getting involved would only come back to bite them, no one made any move to stop it.
...Well, she had ditched work and everything else to come running to Set, so there was really no defending her.
That said, Mirene had planned to head back to Gilm shortly. She hadn't intended to skip out on work entirely.
She just wanted to play with Set in her free time... or so she thought, only to run straight into her nemesis—Yohanna—nemesis not in any biological sense, but in the sense of a heaven-sent adversary.
Anyway, leaving the lecture taking place a short distance away, those who had arrived went about exchanging information and handing off duties.
"Rei, sorry, but they want you back at the Lord's Manor. Lord Daskar says he has business with you."
"Ah, yeah. Got it."
The Birth Tower had suddenly teleported in, Set was the first to sense it, and Rei and Set were the first to arrive on the scene. Considering all that, Rei could understand why Daskar was summoning him.
(Or rather, there's definitely going to be a conversation about breaking through the barrier, too. ...Marina did say it would be fine for now, though.)
He could trust Marina's word, and he didn't think there'd be any serious inquiry over the barrier incident. Still, given the magnitude of what had happened, he'd likely need to explain a few things.
And being on the receiving end of some barbed remarks was, in all probability, a certainty.
...Daskar surely understood that the situation last night demanded immediate action, but breaking through the barrier by force was still a step too far.
"It's fine if I go, but what about Zozo? Without him, we can't communicate."
Currently, Zozo was speaking with the Female Lizardman from the Birth Tower, acting as an interpreter between her and Rei's group.
But if Rei returned to Gilm, Zozo would naturally accompany him.
If that happened, communication with the Lizardmen from the Birth Tower wouldn't become impossible... but it would certainly become more difficult.
Especially given that this was the Birth Tower—a special place—there was a real chance something could go wrong.
"Ah... Ideally, we'd want Zozo to stay here, but if that's absolutely not possible, then the plan is for the people remaining behind to manage on their own for a little while."
Rei nodded at the knight's words.
Most likely, once he finished talking with Daskar, he would be sent back here.
When that happened, Zozo would naturally return with him, and the communication problem wouldn't be all that difficult anymore.
That was precisely why the instruction was for them to manage on their own for just a short while.
That was likely Daskar's order.
"If you understand, then let's be quick. Shall we head out? Get ready, Rei."
"You say get ready, but... the Wheat Inn at Dusk or Marina's place is one thing, but what am I supposed to do here? For that matter, I just woke up and haven't even had breakfast yet."
"Don't worry about breakfast. Lord Daskar has it prepared for you."
"That's... I see. Understood."
The food served at the Lord's Manor was quite delicious.
Naturally, Daskar, in his position as the lord of Gilm, employed cooks who served meals to envoys from other nobles—and sometimes the nobles themselves.
Given that they catered to such guests, there was no way he could have hired unskilled cooks.
In fact, the sandwiches Rei had eaten at the Lord's Manor on several occasions had been quite delicious.
Honestly, he'd wondered more than once why sandwiches—nothing more than ingredients slapped between bread—could taste so different from the ones at other shops.
Even so, the roast Mountain Bird from yesterday still lingered in his mind.
The dish Marina had painstakingly prepared was truly exquisite.
Precisely because it was the day after eating that meal, the mere mention of food conjured memories of the spread from last night's welcome party.
"What is it?"
Marina asked, noticing Rei staring at her.
He shook his head at her question and turned back to the knight with a nod.
"Got it, that's fine. Are we leaving right now?"
"Yes. I'd like you to hurry if possible."
At the knight's words, Rei glanced toward Marina and... Elena and Ara.
That Elena and Ara, who had returned to Gilm before bed, were here again had already been confirmed when they stepped out of the Birth Tower.
"That's what he says. What about you two? Elena, Ara, you just got here, right?"
"I have no objections. I've confirmed there's no abnormality at the Birth Tower."
Hearing that, Rei recalled that Elena was, in her own quiet way, fond of cute things.
Back when they first met Byune in the Labyrinth City Exil, Elena had been the one to actively strike up a conversation.
That was likely why she had taken an interest in the Lizardman children.
(Well, knowing Elena, it's not like this means she won't be able to fight Lizardmen going forward. ...But cooking with Lizardman meat... I wonder about that. I don't particularly want to eat it now, myself.)
The silver lining was that Lizardman meat wasn't widely circulated.
...However, Rei considered the Lizardmen he had encountered in this world and Lizardmen like Zozo and Gaga to be clearly different creatures.
The Lizardmen of this world, at least from Rei's experience, were obviously less intelligent than Gaga and Zozo, and made no attempt at communication.
They possessed a certain degree of intelligence, but it was directed differently from that of Zozo, Gaga, and their kind.
(Well, maybe in the future they could develop into something like Zozo and the others, but...)
Deciding that, for now at least, they were different, Rei quickly got ready and boarded the carriage.
Naturally, Elena, Marina, Ara, and Zozo climbed in as well, and Set trotted alongside.
Watching this, Rei wondered whether Yohanna, who had been playing with Set, would come along too—but instead, she headed toward Mirene, who was still being scolded.
(Gone to tease her?)
Rei thought so for a moment, but Yohanna said something not to the scolded Mirene, but to Surnin, who was doing the scolding.
Rei was curious about what they were saying, but with the carriage already moving, he had no way of finding out.
What he did catch a glimpse of, though, was Surnin extending a hand to Mirene and helping her to her feet.
(Huh. So it's not just that they're on bad terms.)
He had assumed Mirene and Yohanna were thoroughly antagonistic toward each other, so it was unexpected to see Yohanna apparently tell Surnin to cut the lecture short.
While he mulled this over, the carriage rolled toward Gilm.
"Come to think of it, the Treant Forest logging really was called off today, huh."
"Yes. Considering what happened, it's only natural. From last night through this morning, Lord Daskar has been extremely busy."
"Ah... I figured."
Even from Rei's perspective, it was obvious this incident had kept Daskar busy.
Given that, for Daskar as the lord of Gilm, there must have been far more to do than Rei could imagine.
Moreover, the Birth Tower had teleported in at midnight.
In that situation, even if he tried to act, there were few people he could reach.
As a result, he'd needed to send communications to various locations in the early morning—though still before most people were up and about.
And before even that, there were any number of things to handle in advance. In the end, from the moment Daskar was roused by Rei and Set breaking through the barrier, he had been on his feet without a wink of sleep.
"Once we're back at the Lord's Manor, maybe I should heal him a bit with Spirit Magic. Knowing Daskar, sleep deprivation alone won't bring him down, but degraded judgment would be dangerous."
At Marina's words, the knight bowed his head. "Please do."
If Daskar's burden could be eased even slightly, that was welcome news to the knight as well.
While they talked, the carriage arrived in Gilm, passed through the gates with simpler procedures than usual, and headed for the Lord's Manor.
(Ever since the Lizardmen and Green People started teleporting in, I feel like I've been coming to the Lord's Manor almost every day... but I'm still not used to it.)
Gazing out the window, Rei's stomach suddenly growled.
Since he'd been told breakfast would be waiting at the Lord's Manor, he hadn't eaten a thing.
If he'd wanted to, his Misty Ring had plenty of food stored inside, but naturally, he wanted to enjoy a proper breakfast on an empty stomach.
There was also a pang of guilt at the thought of ignoring Daskar's hospitality.
Anyway, the first thing Rei saw upon entering the Lord's Manor was...
"Well, I expected as much."
As he passed by the training ground, he caught sight of Gaga—whose physique was extraordinary even for a Lizardman—sparring with knights in a mock battle.
Yeah, I saw this exact same scene yesterday, he thought, watching.
He wondered why they'd ended up at the training ground rather than inside the manor, but the reason was plainly Gaga.
The highest-ranking Lizardman currently in Gilm was Gaga, the Third Prince of the Gran Dragonia Empire.
Because of that, the fact that the Birth Tower had teleported to the edge of the Treant Forest would need to be explained to him.
However, since Zozo had been at Rei's side the whole time, Rei couldn't tell how much had actually been communicated to Gaga.
Simple exchanges were one thing, but unfortunately, the fact that the Birth Tower had arrived in this world was not something that could be conveyed through gestures alone.
Zozo, who carried the Stone Tablet that translated others' words into text he could understand, had also chased after Rei by carriage last night.
Considering all that, Rei didn't think Gaga knew about the Birth Tower yet.
(Or rather, is it really fine for a Third Prince to be doing mock battles? The knights aren't playing around, either—they're going at him full force. ...Well, Gaga still makes it look easy, though.)
The mock battle unfolding before his eyes was a sight of knights desperately launching attacks at Gaga.
They had been just as serious in the mock battle yesterday, but what Rei was watching now was even more intense.
Even fighting with everything they had, the knights couldn't land a single blow on Gaga.
That was the greatest proof that Gaga possessed strength ranking among the top five in the Gran Dragonia Empire—an empire roughly equal in scale to the Kingdom of Mireana.
"Impressive, Gaga. No wonder Vihera was so pleased."
Perhaps recalling the mock battle between Vihera and Gaga after last night's welcome party, Marina spoke with genuine admiration.
"Indeed. As a training partner for the knights, Lord Gaga is ideal. For all that power, he's careful not to inflict any fatal injuries."
"Oh, Daskar. I heard you were a bit worn out, but you seem lively enough."
Daskar approached Rei's group, who had been watching Gaga's mock battle at the training ground—only for Marina to respond in a voice that was equal parts concerned and teasing.
Normally, Daskar would have fired back with some retort, but right now he was running on fumes. He hadn't had a moment to sleep since Rei and Set broke through the barrier.
"Lord Daskar, about the barrier..."
"No, never mind. I've already heard about it from Marina, so don't give it another thought. Thanks to you, Rei, we were able to respond swiftly to that situation—the Birth Tower, was it? Given that, I have no intention of blaming you."
Rei had been bracing himself to apologize for forcing through the barrier, but Daskar waved it off.
In truth, if Rei had been slow to act, there was no telling what might have happened.
From Daskar's perspective, he owed Rei and Set his gratitude, not a reprimand.
Sensing this, Rei let out a small breath of relief.
Marina had told him not to worry, and he'd believed her, but hearing it directly from Daskar still lifted a weight off his shoulders.
"Thank you very much."
"I told you not to worry about it. ...More importantly, breakfast is ready, so let's talk while we eat. ...Ah, we've got Gaga's portion set aside as well."
Gaga had eaten a while ago, but all that exercise must have worked up an appetite—when Zozo relayed the news, a happy smile spread across his face.